Trucker shot in Nye County reunites with medics who saved his life
On a chilly March night, longtime trucker Carmen Losito was cruising down a southeast Nye County freeway delivering freight to Las Vegas when an angry driver passed him and he heard a loud bang.
Losito thought the driver threw a rock at his truck. It wasn’t until 10 minutes later when he felt a warm sensation near his left armpit when he realized the passing driver had shot him in the chest.
The 52-year-old Henderson man kept calm, dialed 911 and told first responders he would meet them in Pahrump 30 minutes away. There, the Mercy Air 21 air medical transport crew loaded Losito into a helicopter and treated his wound thousands of feet in the sky during a 20 minute flight to the UMC Trauma Center in Las Vegas.
Now nine months later, Losito got to reunite with the crew that saved him inside the UMC Trauma Center on Wednesday, calling it “one of the best days” of his life.
“They are some of the kindest, greatest people that you would ever meet,” Losito said, welling up with emotion. “If you’re gonna have any care whatsoever, these are the people you want to take care of you.”
‘We don’t get to wonder now’
Jeff Yost and Benjamin Ritchie, two of the crew members who saved Losito, said seeing him up and moving was a special moment. In their line of work, Ritchie said, “we don’t get much closure.”
“A lot of times, Jeff and I will sit around (and ask), ‘Do you remember this call? I wonder what happened,’” Ritchie, a flight nurse, said. “We don’t get to wonder now — we actually get to know — and that’s something that doesn’t happen very often. It’s really nice.”
Yost, a flight paramedic, said it was “almost surprising” that Losito’s injuries weren’t more severe given how the bullet ripped through his left chest.
“It’s very possible that it could have been a lot worse,” Yost said. “He was extremely lucky with how that bullet traveled through his body and missed a lot of those really important organs.”
UMC honored Yost and Ritchie with life-saving recognition awards, and Losito gifted them each a Hot Wheels toy medic helicopter as a thank you for saving him.
Shooter not confirmed
Losito said the Nye County Sheriff’s Office told him the investigation into who shot him is ongoing.
In those nine months since he was shot, Losito said the road to recovery hasn’t been easy.
He spent two weeks in the hospital and has had doctor’s appointments five times per week ever since, he said. Driving now makes him uncomfortable and anxious. And a fragment of the bullet struck his stomach, requiring a procedure that has left the organ smaller than it was before.
Doctors told him to treat recovery like it’s a full-time job, and he isn’t sure when he’ll be able to return to work. But as Losito heals, he said he is grateful for the care and attention he received from UMC’s staff.
“These people here at UMC are some of the best that you could ever come across,” Losito said. “And the food’s not too bad here, either,” he joked.
Contact Spencer Levering at slevering@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253.
